Transistor devices and methods of forming a transistor device

ABSTRACT

According to various embodiments, a transistor device may include a substrate. The transistor device may further include a drain terminal and a source terminal formed in the substrate, and a gate terminal formed over the substrate. The transistor device may further include an insulator structure arranged between the drain terminal and the source terminal, and at least partially under the gate terminal. The insulator structure may include an oxide member and a trench isolation region. The oxide member may be at least partially formed over the trench isolation region.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate to transistor devices and methods of forminga transistor device, in particular, laterally-diffused metal-oxidesemiconductor transistor devices.

BACKGROUND

Laterally-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) transistors arewidely used in high voltage (HV) radio frequency power amplifiers formobile networks. The structure of a LDMOS transistor may include anelectrical insulation structure in the LDMOS drift region, between thechannel region under the gate and the drain region. One method offorming the electrical insulation structure is by local oxidation ofsilicon (LOCOS). In the LOCOS process, selected areas of the siliconwafer are converted to silicon dioxide by thermal oxidation of siliconat around 800 to 1200° C. Remaining areas of the silicon wafer that notmeant to be oxidized may be coated in a material such as silicon nitridethat is impermeable to oxygen at high temperatures. Forming theelectrical insulation structure by LOCOS has several disadvantages.Silicon dioxide has a larger volume than silicon, so the growth of thesilicon dioxide may create tension in the silicon wafer, which maydamage electronic devices in the silicon wafer. The LOCOS process alsorequires a high thermal budget. Another method of forming the electricalinsulation structure is to form ultra-shallow trench isolation (USTI).In these processes, ultra-shallow trenches are formed and silicondioxide is deposited in the trenches. Using USTI as the electricalinsulation structure has the disadvantage that the corner of the USTImay become very thin as a result of thermal oxidation causing electricalfield to be focused at the thin corner, thereby degrading the hotcarrier injection (HCI) performance of the LDMOS. As such, there is aneed for an improved method of forming the electrical insulationstructure in a LDMOS.

SUMMARY

According to various embodiments, there may be provided a transistordevice. The transistor device may include a substrate. The transistordevice may further include a drain terminal and a source terminal formedin the substrate, and a gate terminal formed over the substrate. Thetransistor device may further include an insulator structure arrangedbetween the drain terminal and the source terminal, at least partiallyunder the gate terminal. The insulator structure may include an oxidemember and a trench isolation region. The oxide member may be at leastpartially formed over the trench isolation region.

According to various embodiments, there may be provided a method offorming a transistor device. The method may include: providing asubstrate, forming a drain terminal and a source terminal in thesubstrate, forming a gate terminal over the substrate, and forming aninsulator structure. The insulator structure may be formed between thedrain terminal and the source terminal, and at least partially under thegate terminal. Forming the insulator structure may include forming atrench isolation region and forming an oxide member at least partiallyover the trench isolation region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the sameparts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarilyto scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating theprinciples of the invention. In the following description, variousembodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross-sectionalimage of an insulation structure in a prior art LDMOS transistor.

FIG. 2 shows a TEM cross-sectional image of an insulation structure in aLDMOS transistor according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A to 3H show a method of forming an insulator structure of atransistor device according to various embodiments, through partialcross-sectional views of the transistor device.

FIG. 4A shows a TEM cross-sectional image of a LDMOS transistor underfabrication, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4B shows a magnified view of a section of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 shows a TEM cross-sectional image of a LDMOS transistor underfabrication, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor device according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor device according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor device according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of a method of forming a transistor deviceaccording to various embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described below in context of the devices are analogouslyvalid for the respective methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it willbe understood that the embodiments described below may be combined, forexample, a part of one embodiment may be combined with a part of anotherembodiment.

It will be understood that any property described herein for a specificdevice may also hold for any device described herein. It will beunderstood that any property described herein for a specific method mayalso hold for any method described herein. Furthermore, it will beunderstood that for any device or method described herein, notnecessarily all the components or steps described must be enclosed inthe device or method, but only some (but not all) components or stepsmay be enclosed.

It should be understood that the terms “on”, “over”, “top”, “bottom”,“down”, “side”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “lateral”, “side”,“up”, “down” etc., when used in the following description are used forconvenience and to aid understanding of relative positions ordirections, and not intended to limit the orientation of any device, orstructure or any part of any device or structure. In addition, thesingular terms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unlesscontext clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” isintended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put intopractical effect, various embodiments will now be described by way ofexamples and not limitations, and with reference to the figures.

According to various embodiments, a transistor may include one or moreelectrical insulation structures. The transistor may be a LDMOStransistor. The electrical insulation structure, also referred herein asan insulation structure, may be adjacent to the drain region of thetransistor, and may be arranged at least partially under the gate of thetransistor. The insulation structure may be arranged between a channelregion of the transistor and the drain region. The insulation structuremay include a trench isolation region and a step oxide member depositedover the trench isolation region. The step oxide member may also bereferred herein as an oxide member. The trench isolation region may be ashallow trench isolation (STI) or a USTI. The trench isolation regionmay be filled with an electrical insulator or a dielectric material, forexample, an oxide such as silicon dioxide. The step oxide member mayalso include an oxide. The step oxide member may be identical inmaterial composition as the trench isolation region. The step oxidemember may directly contact the trench isolation region. The step oxidemember may overlap with an entire upper top surface of the trenchisolation region, or at least partially overlap with a portion of theupper top surface of the trench isolation region that lies under thegate. The step oxide member may be deposited over the USTI, instead ofbeing formed by oxidizing part of the silicon substrate of thetransistor. The step oxide member may be deposited, for example usingthe process of high temperature oxidation (HTO), or in-situ steamgeneration (ISSG).

FIG. 1 shows a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross-sectionalimage 100 of an insulation structure in a prior art LDMOS transistor.The insulation structure may be a USTI. The circled region 102 shows acorner of the USTI where the oxide of the USTI is very thin. Thinning ofthe corner oxide may be inevitable in the fabrication process of theinsulation structure, as a result of thermal oxidation. The thinning ofthe corner oxide may cause poor HCI performance of the LDMOS transistoras the electrical field may be focused on the thin corner, instead ofbeing uniformly distributed.

FIG. 2 shows a TEM cross-sectional image 200 of an insulation structurein a LDMOS transistor according to various embodiments. The image 200 isa magnified view of a section 502 of FIG. 5. The insulation structuremay include a USTI 204 and a step oxide member 206. The step oxidemember 206 may increase a thickness of the insulation structure at thecorner of the USTI as shown in the circled region 202, as compared tothe insulation structure shown in FIG. 1. The thick corner of theinsulation structure may prevent electrical field from beingconcentrated at the corner of the insulation structure. The LDMOStransistor may achieve a better electrical test and HCI performance ascompared to the LDMOS transistor of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A to 3H show a method of forming an insulator structure of atransistor device according to various embodiments, through partialcross-sectional views of the transistor device. The transistor devicemay be a LDMOS transistor.

FIG. 3A shows a process 300A according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300A may include providing a substrate 310. The substrate 310may include silicon, or other suitable semiconductor materials. Theprocess 300A may include depositing a mask layer 312 over the substrate310. The mask layer 312 may include a nitride, for example, siliconnitride. The process 300A may further include forming a plurality ofshallow trenches 314 that extend from a top surface 324 of the masklayer 312 into the substrate 310. Forming the plurality of shallowtrenches 314 may include etching the mask layer 312 and the substrate310.

FIG. 3B shows a process 300B according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300B may include depositing a photoresist material 316 over thedevice resulting from the process 300A. The photoresist material 316 maybe deposited over the mask layer 312. The photoresist material 316 mayfill up the plurality of trenches 314. The process 300B may includeforming a plurality of cavities 318 in the photoresist material 316. Theplurality of cavities 318 may extend from a top surface of thephotoresist material 316 to the top surface 324 of the mask layer 312.The depth of each cavity 318 may be identical to the thickness of thephotoresist material 316 that lies above the mask layer 312. Theplurality of cavities 318 may be laterally offset from the plurality ofshallow trenches 314.

FIG. 3C shows a process 300C according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300C may include removing part of the substrate 310 that liesunder the plurality of cavities 318. The process 300C may includeetching the substrate 310 with the photoresist material 316 serving asan etch mask. The process 300C may cause the plurality of cavities 318to extend partially into the substrate 310, to form a plurality ofultra-shallow trenches 320. The depth of each ultra-shallow trench 320may be smaller than the depth of each shallow trench 314. For example,the shallow trench 314 may be about 300 to 320 nm in depth; whereas, theultra-shallow trench 320 may be about 90 to 120 nm in depth. The process300C may further include removing the photoresist material 316 afterforming the plurality of ultra-shallow trenches 320.

FIG. 3D shows a process 300D according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300D may include depositing an insulator material 322 over thedevice resulting from the process 300C. The insulator material 322 mayinclude an oxide, for example, silicon dioxide. The insulator material322 may be deposited by high density plasma (HDP) deposition, ozonetetraethoxysilane (TEOS) process, or high aspect ratio process (HARP).The insulator material 322 may be disposed over the mask layer 312. Theinsulator material 322 may fill up the plurality of shallow trenches 314and the plurality of ultra-shallow trenches 320.

FIG. 3E shows a process 300E according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300E may include planarizing or polishing the insulator material322 of the device resulting from the process 300C. The thickness of theinsulator material 322 may be reduced, such that the insulator material322 may not extend beyond the top surface 324 of the mask layer 312. Theplanarized insulator material 322 may fill up the shallow trenches 314and the ultra-shallow trenches 320 up to the top surface 324 of the masklayer 312.

FIG. 3F shows a process 300F according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300F may include removing the mask layer 312. The deviceresulting from the process 300F includes a plurality of USTI 330 and aplurality of STI 332. Each USTI 330 may include the insulator material322 that filled a respective ultra-shallow trench 320. Each USTI 330 mayextend from above the substrate 310 to a first depth in the substrate310. Each STI 332 may include the insulator material 322 that filled arespective shallow trench 314. Each STI 332 may extend from above thesubstrate 310 to a second depth in the substrate 310. The first depthmay correspond to the depth of the ultra-shallow trench 320. The seconddepth may correspond to the depth of the shallow trench 314.

FIG. 3G shows a process 300G according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300G may include providing an oxide material 334 over the deviceresulting from the process 300F. The oxide material 334 may includesilicon dioxide. The oxide material 334 may be identical in materialcomposition, as the insulator material 322. The oxide material 334 maybe disposed over the substrate 310, the plurality of USTI 330 and theplurality of STI 332. Providing the oxide material 334 may includedepositing the oxide material 334 by high density plasma (HDP)deposition, ozone tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) process, or high aspect ratioprocess (HARP).

FIG. 3H shows a process 300H according to various embodiments. Theprocess 300H may include forming a plurality of insulator structures340. Forming the plurality of insulator structures 340 may includeforming a respective oxide member 336 over each USTI 330. Each insulatorstructure 340 may include the oxide member 336 and the respective USTI330. Forming the oxide members 336 may include etching the oxidematerial 334 that is deposited in the process 300G, such that theremaining oxide material 334 is provided at least substantially over theUSTI. In other words, each oxide member 336 may be disposed above and incontact with a respective USTI 330. Forming the oxide member 336 mayinclude partially removing portions of the deposited oxide material 334that are in direct contact with the substrate 310. The oxide member 336may be narrower in width as compared to the USTI 330, such that onlypart of a top surface of the USTI 330 is covered by the oxide member336. The oxide member 336 may cover at least a corner of the USTI 330.The oxide member 336 may form a cap over the USTI 330. Here, the oxidemember 336 is depicted as being wider than the USTI 330 and covering theentire top surface of the USTI 330.

According to various embodiments, each insulator structure mayalternatively include an oxide member 336 disposed above and in contactwith a respective STI 332 instead of a respective USTI 330. The draincurrent (linear) of a LDMOS transistor with the alternative insulatorstructure may be higher than that of a LDMOS transistor with theinsulator structure 340.

According to various embodiments, a method of forming a LDMOS transistormay be provided. The method of forming the LDMOS transistor may includethe processes shown in FIGS. 3A to 3H.

FIG. 4A shows a TEM cross-sectional image 400A of a LDMOS transistorunder fabrication, according to various embodiments. The image 400A maycorrespond to FIG. 3F. The image 400A shows a plurality of STI 332 and aUSTI 330. A section 402 of the image 400A is shown in FIG. 4B.

FIG. 4B shows a magnified view 400B of the section 402 of the image400A. A height 404 (also referred herein as depth) of the STI 332 may bethree times or more, of the height 406 (also referred herein as depth)of the USTI 330. The height 404 of the STI 332 shown in the magnifiedview 400B may be 311.8 nm. The height 406 of the USTI 330 may be 97.1nm. Due to the difference in height, an insulator structure 340 thatincludes the USTI 330 instead of the STI 332 may be preferable, as theresulting LDMOS transistor may achieve a lower drain current in thelinear operation mode.

FIG. 5 shows a TEM cross-sectional image 500 of a LDMOS transistor underfabrication, according to various embodiments. A magnified view of thesection 502 of the image 500 is shown in FIG. 2. The image 500corresponds to FIG. 3H, which shows the insulator structures 340.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor device 600 accordingto various embodiments. The transistor device 600 may be a LDMOStransistor. The transistor device 600 may include a substrate 310. Thesubstrate 310 may include a drift region 604 and a pair of p-wellregions 602. The drift region 604 may lie between the pair of p-wellregions 602. Other than the pair of p-well regions 602, the substrate310 may generally have an n-type conductivity. The p-well regions 602may be formed in the substrate 310, by introduction of p-type dopantsinto the substrate 310, for example by diffusion or implantation. Thetransistor device 600 may include a p+ region 622 and an n+ region 624formed within each p-well region 602. The p+ region 622 may be adjacentto the n+ region 624. A STI 332 may be disposed adjacent to the p+region 622. The p+ region 622 in the p-well region 602 may form thesource terminal of the transistor device 600. A source electrode 662 maybe connected to the n+ region 624. The transistor 600 may include an n+region 614 within the drift region 604. The n+ region 614 may form thedrain terminal of the transistor device 600. A drain electrode 666 maybe connected to the n+ region 614. The transistor device 600 may includea gate terminal 660 arranged over the substrate 310. A gate electrode664 may be connected to the gate terminal 660. The gate terminal 660 mayinclude a polysilicon block 650 arranged over an oxide layer 632.Alternatively, the polysilicon block 650 may be replaced by a metalblock. The oxide layer 632 may include a dielectric such as silicondioxide or silicon oxide. The oxide layer 632 may electrically insulatethe gate terminal 660 from the channel between the drain terminal andthe source terminal. The gate terminal 660 may include an isolationmember 652 at least partially surrounding the polysilicon block 650 anda further isolation member 654 at least partially surrounding theisolation member 652. Both the isolation member 652 and the furtherisolation member 654 may include electrically insulating materials, forexample, oxides and nitrides, for example, silicon oxide and siliconnitrides.

The transistor device 600 may include at least one insulator structurethat includes an oxide member 336 and a USTI 330. The insulatorstructure may be identical to, or at least similar to, the insulatorstructure 340 formed according to the method described with respect toFIGS. 3A to 3H. The USTI 330 may be disposed within the drift region604. The USTI 330 may be adjacent to the n+ region 614. The oxide member336 may be disposed above the drift region 604, and at least partiallyunder the gate terminal 660. The oxide member 336 may come into directcontact with the polysilicon block 650. The transistor device 600 mayinclude a silicide block 634 formed over a side wall of the gateterminal 660 and over part of the oxide member 336. The oxide member 336may overlap at least one corner of the USTI 330 that lies verticallyunder the gate terminal 650. The oxide member 336 may at least partiallyoverlap a top surface of the USTI 330 that lies under the gate terminal660. In other words, the oxide member 336 may at least partially cover aregion of the USTI 330 that is under the gate terminal 660. The oxidemember 336 may separate the USTI 330 from the gate terminal 660. Thetransistor device 600 may be symmetrical about a centerline 670 of then+ region 614. The transistor device 600 may include a pair of gateterminals 660, a pair of insulator structures, a pair of sourceterminals, a drain terminal and a pair of channel regions 680.

According to various embodiments, each oxide member 336 may cover anentire upper surface of the respective USTI 330. The top surface of theUSTI 330 may face the gate terminal 660. The oxide member 336 may atleast substantially overlap the entire upper surface of the USTI 330.Alternatively, the oxide member 336 may be narrower than the USTI 330. Aterminating end of a bottom surface of the gate terminal 660 may be indirect contact with the oxide member 336. The bottom surface of the gateterminal 660 may face the USTI 330. The USTI 330 may have a first endthat faces the channel region of the transistor 660. The channel regionmay lie between the n+ region 624 and the n+ region 614. The USTI mayhave a second end that faces the n+ region 614. The oxide member 336 maycover at least the first end of the USTI 330. In other words, the oxidemember 336 may overlap a corner of the USTI 330 that lies under the gateterminal 660. The oxide member 336 may at least substantially overlap aportion of the USTI 330 that lies under the gate terminal. The oxidemember 336 may be in direct contact with the USTI 330.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor device 700 accordingto various embodiments. The transistor device 700 may be similar to thetransistor device 600, in that it may also be a LDMOS transistor thatincludes a pair of gate terminals 660, a pair of insulator structures, apair of source terminals, a drain terminal and a pair of channelregions. The transistor device 700 may be an n-LDMOS transistor with lowon-resistance. The transistor device 700 may include a substrate 310.The substrate 310 may include three n-well regions 702 a, 702 b and 702c. A first channel region 780 a may lie between the n-well regions 702 aand 702 b. The first channel region 780 a may lie within the drainextension implant region 708 and adjacent to an n+ region 724.

A second channel region 780 b may lie between the n-well regions 702 band 702 c. The second channel region 780 b may lie within the drainextension implant region 708 and adjacent to a p-type region 722. Then-well regions 702 a, 702 b and 702 c may be formed in the substrate310, by introduction of n-type dopants into the substrate 310, forexample by diffusion or implantation. The transistor device 700 mayinclude a drain extension implant region 708 between the n-well regions702 a and 702 b, and another drain extension implant region 708 betweenthe n-well regions 702 b and 702 c. The transistor device 700 mayinclude an n+ region 774 formed within each respective n-well region 702a and 702 c. The transistor device 700 may include the p-type region722, the n+ region 724, and a body region 704 in each respective drainextension implant region 708. The p-type region 722 may be adjacent tothe n+ region 724. The body region 704 may be under both p-type region722 and the n+ region 724. A STI 332 may be disposed adjacent to the n+region 774. The n+ region 774 in the n-well region 702 may form thesource terminal of the transistor device 700. The transistor device 700may include an n+ region 614 within the n-well region 702 b. The n+region 614 may form the drain terminal of the transistor device 700. Thetransistor device 700 may include a gate terminal 660 arranged over thesubstrate 310. The gate terminal 660 may be identical to the gateterminal described with respect to FIG. 6. The source terminals and thedrain terminal may be electrically coupled by a connector 770. Thetransistor device 700 may include at least one insulator structure thatincludes an oxide member 336 and a USTI 330 a. The insulator structuremay be identical to, or at least similar to, the insulator structure 340formed according to the method described with respect to FIGS. 3A to 3H.The USTI 330 a may be disposed partially in the n-well region 702 b. TheUSTI 330 a may be adjacent to the n+ region 614. The oxide member 336may be disposed at least partially under the gate terminal 660. Theoxide member 336 may overlap at least one corner of the USTI 330 a thatlies vertically under the gate terminal 650. The oxide member 336 may atleast partially overlap a top surface of the USTI 330 a that lies underthe gate terminal 660. In other words, the oxide member 336 may at leastpartially cover a region of the USTI 330 a that is under the gateterminal 660. The oxide member 336 may separate the USTI 330 a from thegate terminal 660. The transistor device 700 may further include a USTI330 b disposed partially in the n-well region 702 a and another USTI 330b disposed partially in the n-well region 702 c. Each USTI 330 b may bedisposed partially within a respective drain extension implant region708.

According to various embodiments, each oxide member 336 may cover anentire top surface of the respective USTI 330 a. The top surface of theUSTI 330 a may face the gate terminal 660. Alternatively, the oxidemember 336 may be narrower than the USTI 330 a. A terminating end of abottom surface of the gate terminal 660 may be in direct contact withthe oxide member 336. The bottom surface of the gate terminal 660 mayface the USTI 330 a.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a LDMOS transistor device 800according to various embodiments. The transistor device 800 may besimilar to the transistor device 700, in that it may also be a LDMOStransistor that includes a pair of gate terminals 660, a pair ofinsulator structures, a pair of source terminals, a drain terminal and apair of channel regions 880. The transistor device 800 may be a p-LDMOStransistor with low on-resistance. The transistor device 800 may includea substrate 310. The substrate 310 may include a drain extension implantregion 802 and a pair of body regions 804. Each channel region 880 maylie between a respective body region 804 and the drain extension implantregion 802. The transistor device 800 may include an n+ region 724 and ap+ region 722 formed within the substrate 310 and above each respectivebody region 804. The transistor device 800 may include another n+ region774 in the substrate 310. The other n+ region 774 may be separated fromthe n+ region 724 by a USTI 330 b. A STI 332 may be disposed adjacent tothe n+ region 774. The n+ region 774 may form the drain terminal of thetransistor device 800. The p+ region 722 may form the source terminal ofthe transistor device 800. The transistor device 800 may include an n+region 814 within the drain extension implant region 802. The transistordevice 800 may include a gate terminal 660 arranged over the substrate310. The gate terminal 660 may be identical to the gate terminaldescribed with respect to FIG. 6. The transistor device 800 may includeat least one insulator structure that includes an oxide member 336 and aUSTI 330 a. The insulator structure may be identical to, or at leastsimilar to, the insulator structure 340 formed according to the methoddescribed with respect to FIGS. 3A to 3H. The oxide member 336 may bedisposed at least partially under the gate terminal 660. The oxidemember 336 may overlap at least one corner of the USTI 330 a that liesvertically under the gate terminal 650. The oxide member 336 may atleast partially overlap a top surface of the USTI 330 a that lies underthe gate terminal 660. In other words, the oxide member 336 may at leastpartially cover a region of the USTI 330 a that is under the gateterminal 660. The oxide member 336 may separate the USTI 330 a from thegate terminal 660.

According to various embodiments, a transistor device may be provided.The transistor device may include any one of the transistor devices 600,700 or 800. The transistor device may include a substrate, for examplethe substrate 310. The transistor device may include a drain terminal,for example the n+ region 614 or 814, formed in the substrate. Thetransistor device may include a source terminal, for example, the p+region 622 or the n+ region 774, formed in the substrate. The transistordevice may include a gate terminal, for example the gate terminal 660,formed over the substrate. The transistor device may include aninsulator structure, for example the insulator structure 340. Theinsulator structure may be arranged between the drain terminal and thesource terminal, and at least partially under the gate terminal. Theinsulator structure may include an oxide member, for example, the oxidemember 336, formed over a trench isolation region. The trench isolationregion may be for example, the USTI 330 or 330 a.

According to various embodiments, the transistor device may furtherinclude a further source terminal, a further gate terminal, and afurther insulator structure. In other words, the transistor device mayinclude a single drain terminal, a pair of source terminals, and a pairof gate terminals. The transistor may include a pair of insulatorstructures. Each insulator structure may be arranged between the drainterminal and a respective source terminal. Each insulator structure maybe arranged at least partially under a respective gate terminal.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram 900 of a method of forming a transistordevice according to various embodiments. The transistor device may be aLDMOS transistor. The transistor device may be any one of the transistordevices 600, 700 or 800. The method may include providing a substrate,in 902. The method may include forming a drain terminal and a sourceterminal in the substrate, in 904. The method may include forming a gateterminal over the substrate, in 906. Forming the gate terminal mayinclude forming the gate terminal partially over the oxide member. Themethod may include forming an insulator structure between the gateterminal and the source terminal, and at least partially under the gateterminal, in 908. Forming the insulator structure may include theprocesses 300A to 300H. Forming the insulator structure may includeforming an oxide member over a trench isolation region.

According to various embodiments, the method of forming the transistordevice may further include forming a further source terminal in thesubstrate, forming a further gate terminal over the substrate, andforming a further insulator structure between the drain terminal and thefurther source terminal and at least partially under the further gateterminal. Forming the further gate terminal may include forming thefurther gate terminal partially over the oxide member. The process forforming the further insulator structure may be identical to the processfor forming the insulator structure.

While embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to specific embodiments, it should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of theinvention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes whichcome within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims aretherefore intended to be embraced. It will be appreciated that commonnumerals, used in the relevant drawings, refer to components that servea similar or the same purpose.

It will be appreciated to a person skilled in the art that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing variousembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentinvention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least oneof A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or anycombination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and mayinclude multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically,combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B,or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and“A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, Aand B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinationsmay contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structuraland functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims.Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to thepublic regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited inthe claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” andthe like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claimelement is to be construed as a means plus function unless the elementis expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

1. A transistor device comprising: a substrate; a drain terminal and asource terminal formed in the substrate, and a gate terminal formed overthe substrate; and an insulator structure arranged between the drainterminal and the source terminal, and at least partially under the gateterminal, wherein the insulator structure comprises an oxide member anda trench isolation region; wherein the oxide member is at leastpartially formed over the trench isolation region, and wherein thetrench isolation region is an ultra-shallow trench isolation region. 2.The transistor device of claim 1, wherein the transistor device is aLDMOS transistor.
 3. The transistor device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a further source terminal; a further gate terminal; and afurther insulator structure comprising a further oxide member and afurther trench isolation region, wherein the further insulator structureis arranged between the drain terminal and the further source terminal,at least partially under the further gate terminal, and wherein thefurther oxide member is at least partially formed over the furthertrench isolation region.
 4. The transistor device of claim 1, whereinthe oxide member is formed over the substrate, and wherein the trenchisolation region is formed in the substrate.
 5. (canceled)
 6. Thetransistor device of claim 1, wherein the oxide member overlaps a cornerof the trench isolation region that lies under the gate terminal.
 7. Thetransistor device of claim 1, wherein the oxide member at leastsubstantially overlaps a portion of the trench isolation region thatlies under the gate terminal.
 8. The transistor device of claim 1,wherein the oxide member overlaps an entire upper surface of the trenchisolation region, wherein the upper surface faces the gate terminal. 9.The transistor device of claim 1, wherein the oxide member is in directcontact with the trench isolation region.
 10. The transistor device ofclaim 1, wherein the oxide member and the trench isolation region areidentical in material composition.
 11. A method of forming a transistordevice, the method comprising: providing a substrate; forming a drainterminal and a source terminal in the substrate; forming a gate terminalover the substrate; forming an insulator structure between the drainterminal and the source terminal, and at least partially under the gateterminal; wherein forming the insulator structure comprises forming atrench isolation region and forming an oxide member at least partiallyover the trench isolation region, and wherein the trench isolationregion is an ultra-shallow trench isolation region.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein forming the insulator structure comprises forming thetrench isolation region in the substrate and forming the oxide memberover the substrate.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The method of claim 11, whereinforming the oxide member comprises depositing an oxide material over thetrench isolation.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein depositing theoxide material comprises depositing the oxide material by hightemperature oxidation process or in-situ steam generation process. 16.The method of claim 14, wherein forming the oxide member furthercomprises etching the deposited oxide material.
 17. The method of claim14, wherein forming the oxide member further comprises partiallyremoving portions of the deposited oxide material that are in directcontact with the substrate.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein formingthe gate terminal comprises forming the gate terminal partially over theoxide member.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: forming afurther source terminal in the substrate; forming a further gateterminal over the substrate; and forming a further insulator structurebetween the drain terminal and the further source terminal, at leastpartially under the further gate terminal, wherein forming the furtherinsulator structure comprises forming a further trench isolation regionand forming a further oxide member at least partially over the furthertrench region.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein forming the furthergate terminal comprises forming the further gate terminal partially overthe oxide member.
 21. The transistor device of claim 1, wherein a depthof the ultra-shallow trench isolation region is 90 to 120 nm.
 22. Thetransistor device of claim 1, further comprising: a shallow trenchisolation region disposed adjacent to the source terminal, wherein theshallow trench isolation region is separated from the insulatorstructure.